


Porcelain Minds

by TheAngelThyla



Series: New Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow [11]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Depression, F/M, Family Feels, Family Issues, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Injury Recovery, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Permanent Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Xavier Institute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-03-20 02:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3632649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAngelThyla/pseuds/TheAngelThyla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of "Heroes of Tomorrow," the time-travelers must adjust to their new lives, but that's easier said than done.<br/>With new additions, domesticity, PTSD, and decades of mind control to face, the family has a lot on their plates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Okay, so it was requested that I tell what happens after the teams disband and I had a lot of ways to go with this but the best seemed to follow James and his family. (like in the first part)  
> I also chose to try to focus on the PTSD and various other effects the past has had on these characters so be warned. This is most definitely a dark fic. I'm personally using this to get through my own PTSD and depression so if you think that's going to bother you, I highly suggest not reading.  
> This fic may end up having seriously dark themes so anyone who continues to read should check back with the tags and warnings often.  
> Also, I'm so sorry the first chapter's this short but I had to get it out there as soon as possible.

_**A small town in Nevada...**_  
Daniel sat on the curb, watching as his family readied to drive to New York. (Apparently, it was too dangerous to fly until the government dropped the warrants out for their heads)  
James was helping Lenore with the baby into the 15-passenger van they'd purchased, Lizzie was already strapped in and being entertained by Torunn. Thor and Bucky were loading the bags (one a person) into the back and Jane had went across the street to the gas station in search of drinks for the road.  
Danny looked down at the weed he was systematically stripping in his hands, not reacting to his mother sitting next to him.  
"How you doing, kiddo?" She sat with her hands clasped, eyes scanning their group.  
The boy just shrugged and began to chew on his lip.  
"You know," she sighed after a few moments. "I have no idea what you have been through, but I can guarantee that it gets better."  
Danny's eyes burned so he tilted his head to allow his hair to obscure his face. He'd heard that promise enough recently that he'd begun to resent it; but coming from his mother...  
A slender hand laid atop his own two, forcing him to focus on her instead of the plant.  
"If you need to talk, I'm here." Natalia stood, her son carefully keeping his head down but his eyes tracked her movement to help Jane with her findings.  
Daniel sighed. Maybe things could get better.  
  


* * *

  
  
Bucky laid his head back on the passenger seat, watching the countryside roll by.  
Natasha had snaked her free hand over and entwined it with his between them, her other still firmly on the wheel, making the both of them smile shyly.  
She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen but now, after nine months, he was even more enraptured by her than ever before.  
She was smart and funny, kind and strong and committed to whatever she did. He'd found out late one night over tea that the necklace she always wore was a gift from her partner back at SHIELD. (He didn't have to guess who, knowing it was an arrow.) He learned she was a horrible cook but she made amazing coffee; an amazingly graceful dancer but an even more so boxer.  
But the most surprising thing of all: She was a perfect mother. She'd sing to Elizabeth before bed every night, would sit in silence on the fire escape with Daniel for hours on end on his bad days, and would drop everything if either of them asked. Using every single part of her "highly specialized skill set" to care for others.  
It made Bucky feel like he wasn't needed, just looking at her.  
Unbeknownst to him as they neared the gates to the school, she was thinking the exact same things about him...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family starts their new adventure by meeting new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so, SO sorry for how long this chapter took and the fact that it's kind of a filler chapter. My life kinda exploded with insanity and I had a two-week job on a film set and then I lost internet and then we moved, then there was a trip to Minnesota and now I'm sick and- Yeah, I think you get the picture. Sorry for rambling.  
> Basically I just didn't have any time to write but now I'm sick and bed-ridden so I could write a little. (Even if I kept zoning out and having to take a break every five minutes to cough up a lung)  
> Thanks to you all for being so patient and to my friends Egypt and Olivia for beta-reading.

Daniel sat slumped in his seat with his head pressed against the window, feigning sleep when the van pulled onto a gravel driveway and, after a few moments, slowed to a stop.  
Opening the eye closest to the window to a slit, he saw large, iron gates about 12-feet high that were set into brick walls that had to be at least three feet thick. Next to the gates, embedded in the brick, was a plaque that read _"Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters."_  
Danny quickly wiped away the tear that escaped. There wasn't any time for those. (Or the pesky memories that they stemmed from)  
Lifting his head, he saw that his parents were whispering between each other, heads turned towards the intimidating wall around the school grounds.  
"Soooooo," Torunn dragged out the word, breaking the near-silence. "Are we going to go in or stay out here until we're all as old as Bucky?"  
Elizabeth giggled and Danny tried to hide a smile, even as their father glared at the grinning demi-Asgardian.  
All attention was yanked away when a cloud of blue smoke erupted on the hood and a blue-skinned man appeared.  
By the time Danny had turned his head to look, all of the non-time traveling members of their group had weapons drawn and trained on the visitor through the windshield, who just tilted his head with a small wave of his three-fingered hand.  
"Hallo!" He grinned happily, even with three Avengers pointing weapons in his face. "The professor has been expecting you. Please come in!" And with that, he vanished in another puff of smoke, the gates swinging open behind him with small squeaks.  
For a few moments the car was silent, until Jane broke the silence: "What _was_ that thing?"  
All of the younger occupants of the car glared at her.  
"That," Lizzie hissed, arms crossed. "Was Mr. Wagner and _he_ ," her voice rose in volume on the word. "Is _not_ a thing." Then she stuck out her blue tongue and turned away.  
  


* * *

  
  
After the adults calmed down and it was explained that Kurt Wagner was in fact a mutant and a student/faculty member at the school, they drove through the gates and up to the "school." Bucky thought it looked more like a castle than anything else, and said as much.  
As he stepped from the car, he looked up and saw the same blue man hanging from the open door-frame by his toes, swinging lightly in the breeze, a orangey red-haired woman in a sensible pair of black slacks and an olive green sweater standing with her hands behind her back beneath him.  
"So," he spoke to no one particular as Natasha came to stand next to him. "This seems a little ominous."  
Natasha hummed in agreement and nonchalantly bumped his shoulder before starting up the mansion steps, following their children who had already reached the strange woman and begun talking with her.  
"Mom, Dad," James started when they reached the top steps. "This is Jean Grey. She's a teacher here."  
"Welcome to the Xavier Institute," she greeted with a smile. "I'll take you to the professor." And with that, she turned and walked inside, Kurt disappearing in a puff of smoke once again.  
As they followed her inside, Bucky couldn't help but stare at the ornate beauty of the building. It wasn't exactly fancy, more homey than anything, but it was beautiful, nonetheless. The mahogany-paneled walls and grey marble interspersed throughout, the elegantly carved wooden staircase directly across from the giant wooden doors that split off into opposite directions and everything lit with a warm, orangey glow. It felt like a home.  
It felt even more like a home when Bucky heard young voices laughing down the hall before a small group of children, between ten and twelve years old, came racing through, one running straight into him and almost falling over.  
"Sorry," he said with a big grin on his face before racing off after his friends, causing Bucky to smile after him.  
"What have I told you kids about running through here?" A brunet around the same age as Jean Grey bellowed. He wore black jeans and a black leather jacket over a dark blue tshirt, his eyes hidden behind big, red-tinted sunglasses. _Who wears sunglasses inside?_  
"Scott," Jean admonished with a teasing lilt. "It's fine. Just make sure they get to class?"  
The man, Scott, grumbled his assent before leaning down a little to kiss the woman on the cheek and starting down the opposite hall after the boys.  
Bucky looked over at Danny for some sense of understanding but just saw him look a little uncomfortable and James ruffling his hair.  
"Come along," Miss Grey called over her shoulder as she continued down the hall that the children had come from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise to post another update as soon as possible.  
> Kudos and bookmarks give me life!!!!


	3. Normal Life, Here We Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meets the Professor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, SO sorry about how long it's been. I've been struggling to write because of a cross between killer writer's block and SOOOO much rl stuff.  
> And I'm 20 now, so my responsibilities have quadrupled but why in the world am I bothering you all with this? Go read and suffer with me.

Torunn followed along behind her parents, hands clasped behind her back and head held high; ever the dutiful princess that she was, though her very soul ached with every passing step.  
She couldn't remember this school, these halls. But she knew this place; knew these people.

Sometimes she wished that she could've stayed behind and fought back, gotten revenge on the monsters that sabotaged Anthony's machine and took her memory. But no. No, she couldn't have let her family run straight into Hell's maw without her.

Ahead, she saw her parents holding hands as they traversed the hallway and she smiled. She couldn't remember when she was little, if she ever saw them like this; but she did know that even years from now they would still be so in love.

It made her heart ache knowing that there was still so much pain to endure. Things that she had no hope of preventing...

  
  


  
  


  
  


Miss Grey stopped to open a set of oak doors that obviously led into the Professor's office.

James only remembered being here the one time after what they had begun to call "the Accident" so that the Professor could make sure that he still had some measure of control over his abilities. He remembered the smile that reached the old man's eyes and the kindness in his voice. He was looking forward to meeting with him again.

Inside nothing much had changed. There were a few different books and less pictures and gifts from the younger students on the shelves but that was about it.

And in front of the large desk was the Professor himself.

"Good afternoon." He smiled at the group that filed in.

James could tell that his parents were in no way comfortable by the way his mother was holding herself loosely and his father stiff, arms crossed over his chest; the way they always were before a fight.

"My name is Charles Xavier," the Professor continued, but was interrupted by Lizzy running up to him and climbing onto his lap.

"Hi, Professor!" the little girl giggled, causing the Professor to chuckle himself.

"Well, hello there," he replied. "You must be Elizabeth."

The seven year old nodded, smile still firmly affixed to her face.

Professor Xavier turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "Azari already explained your circumstances and we've prepared rooms for you. And if you'd like, when the younger ones have settled in, we can enroll them in classes."

  
  


  
  


Natasha blinked; taken aback by the professor's calm joy. In such times as they'd been through, his quiet happiness was an oddity.

"Of course, there is a university just a few miles away that some of you may choose to attend or you may choose to work here; new teachers are always welcome," Xavier continued.

Natasha and Bucky looked at each other and opened their mouths to speak, but Thor asked the question on everyone's minds: "What would we possibly teach?"

"You all have knowledge to be shared here," Lenore interjected. "Aunt Jane is a gifted astrophysicist and of course could continue to write her papers while sharing with the students here. Uncle Thor of course is an amazing strategist and could teach the students how to use their gifts to their advantage."

"And mom can teach just about anything from language to politics to self defense," James added. "And dad can speak multiple languages and can fix just about anything, given the right tools."

"What about all of you?" Jane questioned.

"I think I can answer that," interjected the professor. "Azari and Zataniah already informed me of Lenore's past experience with teaching theatre and vocal lessons during the summers and James has shown an interest in teaching English." The professor smirked as he continued. "Of course, Torunn is welcome to do as she pleases, though I would welcome her to join our security team."

Torunn smirked, inclining her head in a slight nod.

“It's settled then,” the Professor said, setting Elizabeth on the floor and handing keys to everyone. “Kurt will show you to your apartments.”

“There are small houses behind the mansion for the teachers and visitors to stay in,” Lenore clarified.

As she finished, the blue man appeared hanging on the wall sconce next to her.

  
  


  
  


  
  


As it so happened, the houses were quite spacious, despite seeming small from the outside. Bucky stepped in the front door, with Natasha right behind him.

The front door opened into a circular entryway and then into a fully furnished kitchen with an open plan leading into a dining room and just past that: living room.

While Bucky and Natasha were looking around, Elizabeth ran past them giggling, dragging her little suitcase behind her, straight on up the stairs.

“Elizabeth! Wait for us to have a look around first!” Bucky called after her, but she ignored him.

Danny chuckled as he slipped past them and followed Lizzy.

“Relax,” he called over his shoulder. “This place is connected to the mansion's security system that not even SHIELD can crack.”

Natasha sighed as she slid her arm in his.

“So. Normal life, here we come, right?”

Bucky chuckled softly and kissed her head.

“Yeah. Normal.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So bittersweet chapter but it could be worse, right?


	4. Author's Note

Hello, my lovely readers.

I'm so sorry for how long it's taken me with this installment but I've had a horrible case of writer's block. Thankfully my sister was able to help me with the last chapter but I'm having serious issues with continuing.

So, I'm taking on prompts. Shoot me a message with a prompt or an idea for something (anything) and I'll do my best and be eternally grateful for your help in getting rid of this block.

Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you'd like to see in this fic. Comments/kudos lets me know I'm doing well. (Or tells me what I'm doing wrong. Thank you, negative commenters!)


End file.
